Evaluation of a home-based physiotherapy programme for those with moderate to severe multiple sclerosis: a randomized controlled pilot study.

OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the effect of an eight-week home-based physiotherapy programme in reducing physical impairment, disability and psychological distress for people with moderate to severe multiple sclerosis (MS).
DESIGN:
Pilot randomized controlled trial.
SETTING:
Community; subjects' homes.
SUBJECTS:
Thirty people moderately to severely affected by MS (Extended Disability Status Score, EDSS, 6.5-8) were randomized to an intervention or control group.
INTERVENTION:
The intervention group received twice weekly, home-based physiotherapy for eight weeks and the control group received usual care.
MAIN MEASURES:
The following outcome measures were recorded at baseline, post-intervention (Week 8) and at follow-up (Week 16). Primary outcome measure; Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS29) and secondary outcome measures assessed physical impairment, MS symptoms, quality of life, mood, and disability.
RESULTS:
Although the Group¿*¿Time interaction failed to reach statistical significance with MSIS29 (p¿=¿0.925), MS - related symptom checklist (MS-RS) (p¿=¿0.627) and for lower limb strength, right knee extension (p¿=¿0.375) and right knee flexion (p¿=¿0.794), there is more evidence of altered levels in the treatment group than in the control group.
CONCLUSION:
A minimum of 58 subjects per group are required to achieve a power of 80% at the 5% level of significance based on the MSIS29. A larger scale study is required.